October Apple Event Confirmed: 5 Possible Announcements

The October Apple event is confirmed with new media invites for the event where we expect to see the new iPad Air 2, learn the final OS X Yosemite release date and possibly see a new iMac Retina.

The October Apple event invites show an Apple logo and the tagline It’s been way too long. In typical Apple fashion they don’t include any actual device teasers or details, but there are arguably many Apple products where it’s been way too long since the last update.

Apple’s next event takes place on October 16th at the Town hall auditorium at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The event is at 10 AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern.

We don’t know if Apple plans to offer an October Apple event live stream, but the company recently streamed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus event.

The October Apple event is confirmed. Here are five things you can expect to see. Image via The Loop

iPad Air 2

At the October Apple event you can expect to see a new iPad Air 2 with a thinner design, possibly a gold iPad Air 2 color option, improved cameras, new storage options, Touch ID and even support for Apple Pay.

The iPad Air 2 release date could arrive soon after the announcement, possibly on October 24th. The Michael Report claims Apple started producing the new iPad Air 2 at large-scale and Apple typically delivers a new iPad within a week or a week and a half of the announcement.

iPad Mini 3

A new iPad mini Retina with an updated Apple A8 processor and Touch ID is also rumored for the event. There are fewer details about a new iPad mini, but the timing is right, even for a small upgrade to this popular tablet.

Apple may keep the 16GB iPad mini 3 storage option around despite rumors that the larger iPad Air 2 will start with 32GB of storage.

iMac Retina

There is a chance we will see Apple announce the iMac Retina at the October Apple event. Apple launched a cheaper iMac in June 2014, but there are reports that Apple is finally ready to offer a new iMac with a Retina display.

One report claims the iMac Retina will use a 5k display and AMD graphics. Jack March shares the following iMac Retina details,

“the 27″ Model will be the only model that gets this feature. The source says the new 27″ iMac will use a 5120 x 2880 panel as leaked in the OSX Yosemite code a few months ago. This resolution is double the current resolution of the 27″ iMac which is 2560×1440.”

OS X Yosemite Release Date

One thing you can count on with the October Apple event is the OS X Yosemite release date announcement. Apple already announced OS X Yosemite in June and there is a public beta, but the company is keeping the actual release date a secret for now.

OS X Yosemite delivers a new look for the Mac operating system as well as many new features and better connectivity to the iPhone and iPad running iOS 8.

iOS 8.1 Release Date

The iOS 8 release is full of bugs and problems and Apple still needs to deliver an update that turns on Apple Pay for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The iOS 8.1 release crept closer this week thanks to a second iOS 8.1 beta and the October Apple event is a perfect time to announce the first major iOS 8 bug fix update.